


Ara'val

by CileraDragonfang



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Multi, No Name, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, mute character, no memories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 07:41:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14374089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CileraDragonfang/pseuds/CileraDragonfang
Summary: What is it like to breathe for the first time? Or to fear? Or to fail?Waking up surrounded by monsters is not a good way to find out.What is it like to speak for the first time? Or to laugh? Or to remember?That's what she will soon discover surrounded by friends.





	1. Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learning about fear

 

 

The first thing she could remember was the solid gasp of air that pushed into her lungs. Feeling them expanding painfully and fully. The air clung to her throat thickly like it was the first time it ever experienced such a feat and wanted to savour it while pushing for more at the same time. The next was the cold rain pouring from the dark, starless sky. Soaking her thoroughly and chilling her to her bones. Her back settled uncomfortably on something hard and unforgiving beneath her. She tried to shift away but her body didn't respond the way it should.

The last thing that came was the sounds around her.

There was a dull thrum pushing against her eardrums. Then the sound of metal on metal clashed and made her wince. Lastly, a blood curdling scream pushed through the last of the fog clinging to her mind. 

If she hadn't already been prone on the ground before, she would have been after hearing that horrible sound. 

Her head lulled to the side just in time to watch a man in armor stabbed in the chest by a monster. Another man was tossed easily by an even larger monster in a single swing of its massive arm.

They were grotesque and terrifying and...wrong. She could feel evil rippling off of the creatures. Like a wave of pure horror leaching from their very pores. The smaller let out a howl of approval towards its kill as it pulled the blood covered blade from the body to move to the next unfortunate soul in its path.

In that moment she knew she had only two options. One, if she stayed on the ground she would die. Of that there was no doubt if the armor soldiers around her were so easily defeated. Two, if she got up and ran there was the smallest...tiniest...possibly that she can run away and not die….hopefully.

She checked to see if her body would respond to her commands and it did...begrudgingly.

Her mind was made up for her, however. Before she could do more than sit up the larger of the two monsters she had seen picked up a man wearing golden armor and crushed him. Concaving the armor inwards as if it were merely crumpling a piece of paper. The golden warrior was thrown to the side in a heap….onto _her legs._

The weight of him crushed her small legs into the ground and she could feel a bone snap under the pressure. The golden man shifted with the continued momentum of the throw and it twisted the already broken bones to protrude from her skin. She went to scream but her throat was raw and her vocal cords were already shredded to the point nothing came out. Tears filled her eyes as the pain became unbearable.

It was too much.

There was _too_ much.

Too many screams. Too many monsters. So much blood and pain and anguish around her to think of anything. Someone was crawling toward her with with anguish in his eyes.

Her whole body shook and vibrated. And just before her mind blacked out she saw a green light flash. Dulled behind her closed eyelids.

Then nothing.

\----------

 

She woke again with a gasping lung filling breaths. This time, however, the sky was light and….snowing?

She couldn't feel the cold. 

_‘Am I dead?’_

As she was musing over her state of being two dark brown eyes peered down on her.

With a jerk she scrambled backwards away from the person. Using her arms and legs to crawl away. The cold, uneven ground pulling roughly at her bare legs. 

It only took a moment to register she was now cold and that her leg was, in fact, no longer broken.

She stared, wide-eyed at her leg, exposed past the hem of her roughspun tunic, and turned it back and forth to see if it was just shock or the cold keeping the pain at bay. But when she saw no scars or even a single bruise let alone bone sticking out of her thin leg she looked back up to the person she had been trying to get away from. 

He was crouched on his ankles looking at her. He had dark tan skin and dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. At the sight of his bloody armor and weapons attached to his back she began to skitter backwards again when he raised his hands to still her. 

That's when she noticed his eyes. They were brown and...soft? Pleading in a way she could understand. **_Calm. Patience. Peace._ **

She stopped moving and he held his hands up a little longer before dropping them to grab at something nearby.

The sight of food he turned around with had her stomach growling with anticipation and her body lurched forward before she could reign it in. Noticing her apprehension he set the dried meat on the blanket she had hastily vacated and stood. Stepping away from her to the other side of the fire she had just noticed. 

That's when her cold and hunger became too much for her. She stood shakily and cautiously walked back to the blanket and the food that sat openly by the fire.

Glad _he_ was on the other side of it.

She kept stealing glances in his direction every so often over the fire while she ate and he did the same. She wasn't afraid of him per se, he resonated with positive energy but there was an undercurrent of sorrow and worry eating at him and that made her...uneasy. There was also something inside him that wasn't right. Dark and twisted. Almost like the monsters last night, but tempered and small and different.

When he did finally speak it shook her out of her quiet reflection of the man. His voice was warm and calm. Not sweet like honey but more toned with wisdom to invoke a sense of parentalness….fatherly.

“Are you feeling better?”

She nodded in reply.

His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly. Likely less worried she would be as skittish. 

“Why were you at Ostagar, child?”

Her face scrunched up in confusion… _’Ostagar?’_ She didn't know a place by that name, so she shrugged not looking at him as she took another bite of the dried meat and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. 

“What is your name? Where are you parents?”

Her brows furrowed, thinking hard to come up with the answers to the questions. The first thing she could remember was that first gasp of air on the battlefield. She knew she had a name. It was on the tip of her tongue, but it refused to come to her. As for her parents...she didn't know. The longer she thought about it the thicker the fog of her memories became.

The sudden shock of realising that she had no idea who she was hit her. She opened her mouth to speak, but to her horror no noise came out. The only sound that came was a harsh blast of air as it escaped her. She put her hand to her throat and tried again, but nothing was coming out. It didn't hurt like it had last night with shredded vocal cords, but it still felt wrong. She looked back to the man across the fire with pleading eyes. 

 _“Why can't I talk?!’_ she cried internally.

She could feel the panic rising up again in her like it had the night before and she couldn't tamp it down. She tried to speak again and when that failed she felt tears start welling up in her eyes. Her other hand came up to her throat to search for signs of damage. There wasn't any. Her hand met nothing but smooth skin.

The man stood quickly, arms poised in that calm placating manner, and walked towards her. Worried she would back away again. At the moment she didn't care. She was confused and frightened.

“It's alright, child. It's okay. You're okay,” he crouched beside her and placed a hand on her back. Before she even realised what she was doing she turned and buried her face into his shoulder.

He stilled, caught off guard, and she could tell he was conflicted, but once again she couldn't care. 

Her eyes had nearly run dry and her breath evened out when she heard someone coming from the tree line to her right. She whipped her head away from the tan man to see a blonde strolling through the trees loudly.

“Duncan, we should get going if we are going to catch up with….” he cut off his sentence when he saw her practically sitting in the tan man’s lap. Tear streaks cutting lines through her dirt covered face. “Oh… she's finally awake. Good. We can finally get moving.”

This new man seemed young. If it wasn't plainly written in his features it was written in the way he felt impatient and hurried. He was clearly agitated by something.

“You should probably eat something before we leave, Your Majesty. It will be a few days before we make it to Lothering by foot and you will need all of your strength.”

“I'm fine and I can eat while we walk if necessary. There is no need to delay now that the little elf is awake.” There was a note of finality to the statement and the tan man let out an exasperated sigh as he pulled from her grip and stood. 

The tan man - Duncan and the blonde man - Majesty (odd name as it is) looked at each other for a moment. She could feel a silent war going on between them during that time, but finally Duncan turned to her.

“Do you think you can walk, child?”

She stood, shaking out her limbs as best she could and pulled the blankets around her shoulders closer. She took a step and then another and after finding her knees were only a touch wobbly she turned back to him and nodded.

Majesty let out an unamused laugh and lifted his golden armor onto his back and began walking towards the trees. “Now that that's taken care of, let's go.” 

He didn't stop to look back and see if they followed. Duncan let out another long sigh and put out the fire with hastily kicked dirt and walked towards the same direction. He did turn when he got to the trees and motioned for her to follow.

Once again having two options. One staying out her alone with no memory and no clothes to stave off the cold other than her tunic and a blanket. Or, two, go with them and have some chance of surviving with them. She could possibly like Duncan well enough. Majesty on the other hand…. 

For the first time in her remembered life she got to choose and started walking towards the trees to follow.

 


	2. Reunited (And it feels so good!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learning about happy

She didn't know how long they walked before she passed out. The snow had quit falling, but the cloudy sky kept the sun hidden from view. Her tiny legs became heavier as the hours dragged by. The two men in front of her didn't talk much and the silence pulled her down further. 

Time seem to stand still and every tree looked the same. The road didn't curve and she could have sworn she's kicked that pebble before. 

That's when she tripped...trying to kick the pebble that caught her attention. Stumbling over her own feet as the ground came up to meet her. Landing hard, she tried to push herself up, but all her strength was gone from her tiny arms. 

She couldn't move. Couldn't speak to call for help. So she just laid there.

_ ‘I wonder how long I'll stay here… Will they even notice or just keep walking?’ _

Suddenly she was lifted into a pair or tan arms as Duncan pulled her from the ground. He smiled sadly down at her and wrapped the blanket around her fully before settling her in.

Being this close to him sent shivers through her. She could feel that twisting sensation under his skin. The only thing she could think of was darkness. Black fingers clawing to be realised.

But looking into his eyes she could see light. Even with them clouded by obvious despair, she could she a man who was good.  A man that has loved. A man that protects.

A man at war with himself. Body against soul.

She realised suddenly she wanted to help him. This man that has shown nothing but kindness to her for as long as she can remember. Even if she couldn't remember who she was...where she belonged… she would help him. Somehow.

It wasn't long before dreamless sleep pulled at her while looking up at him.

 

\---------

 

She woke with a start once again. Something...someone had been calling out to her. 

She was still in Duncan’s arms when she came to, but struggled to be put down. He obliged quickly and she spun around to find what it was pulling her. Calling her.

Off in the woods...distant, but so very close...she could feel it. Or more like a them. Something singing to her like a siren’s song. She started running that way. Ignoring the shout of alarm that came from the men she had been traveling with.

It pulled on her very being. It felt like a calling to the others as well, but they didn't seem to hear it.

_ 'Could they?' _

She couldn't tell if she ran for minutes or hours. Time is a thing she would never get used to. But stumbling into a rough clearing she stopped. The two men hot on her heels. The people who had been setting up tents stopped what they were doing and immediately drew their weapons. Gleaming sword, notched arrow, and glowing hands.

They either didn't notice her or were too preoccupied with the sounds of the others following.

When Duncan and Majesty broke the tree line everything stopped.

The sounds of chasing.

The sounds of breathing.

The sounds of heartbeats.

Even the wind blowing through the trees quieted.

Until…

“Duncan?!” a strong, sturdy man from the group asked in surprise.

“Alistair!” he replied.

A sword dropped from his hand as the man, Alistair, rushed towards Duncan. Embracing him in an awkward, uncomfortable hug. Armor makes hugging difficult she mused as she watched them.

She could feel it then. The twisting under the young man's skin. Just like Duncan's. The same wrongness and darkness she had been feeling. 

But there was another. She swung her head to the right to see a young woman. Strong but agile. Beautiful but nice. A bow in her hand, fingers barely holding onto it as if the wind could knock it away.

She couldn't really tell why this seemed so important to call to her. But they were... **happy** .

Duncan was happy.

She had helped.

There was talking. A lot of talking then. But she didn't really care. She couldn't be involved. So she started wondering around the camp. Seeing what she could of these new people that had called to her.

Alistair was young. His arms and hands animated and words excited. He vibrated...happy. That's all she could read from him at the moment.

The beautiful woman...also happy, seemed confused, worried, isolated. Her long red hair braided and gathered into a bun at the base of her neck. Her eyes held a weight that didn't match her face. She had seen pain and suffering. 

The urge to hug her was strong, but she kept her feet still waiting to see if the people were ok like Duncan. 

There was a third. A tall black haired woman with golden eyes. She, however, was look straight at her. Not caring about the reunion that was obviously taking place with the others.

As the woman stepped forward she stepped back. There was something about her that made her uneasy. Like predator and prey. Cunning, quick, selfish.

She quickly broke eye contact and moved back to where Duncan was, needing a person she knew to ground her. She squirmed her way around Alistair and grabbed Duncan's hand before he could protest.

To her surprise he looked down and smiled at her.

Not the sad smile she had seen. One that wrinkled around his eyes and touched his soul. She couldn't help but smile in return. It hurt her cheeks, but she didn't care. She had made Duncan happy.

The beautiful red hair woman came forward and crouched in front of her.

“Hey there. I'm Elena,” she said pointing to herself. “That is Alistair and that is Morrigan,” Elena motioned towards the others. “I hear we have you to thank for finding us.” Elena smiled.

She nodded her head still smiling up to Duncan.

“So...how did you find us?” Elena asked.

She shrugged but kept smiling. Now that she had done it she didn't want stop. She let go of Duncan's hand and hugged the woman like she had wanted to before. And with a silent giggle she did the same for Alistair and skipped off before they even knew what happened.

She found a small, slow moving stream just passed the tents and stopped when she saw her reflection. She had seen so many others before she had even seen herself. Short, spiky black hair caused her ears to seem more pointed and prominent. Large, bright violet eyes peered back at her. Her skin was pale and without blemishes. But she liked it. The exact picture of what she thought she'd looked like.

‘ _ I must have seen myself before.’ _ She turned her head at every angle so she could remember and hopefully never forget again. Forgetting doesn't seem to be the right word, but she can't think of another that fit.

The others in camp had seemed to have quieted down while she was off quietly contemplating herself and she decided to join them by the fire that had been built. She laid down as close to the warmth as possible and started to feel the pull of dreams playing at her.

‘ _ Finally,’ _ she thought smiling as she fell asleep for the first time knowing it was happening.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry..."she" will get a name soon and make it a little less confusing. 
> 
> Just wait until you hear some of the name Alistair tries to come up with. *giggles*

**Author's Note:**

> So if you've read my other fic "Dreaming Tranquil", you might have realised I have a thing for broken characters. Unconventionally broken. Well, welcome to a fic with a litte, elf girl who has amnesia and is mute.
> 
> Because sometimes people's eyes can say a lot more than their words ever could.


End file.
